FCC Issues Annual EEO Audit Letters – NY Stations Included in Audit

On February 14, the Media Bureau sent the first of its Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) audit letters for 2019 to randomly selected radio and television stations. The Bureau annually audits the EEO programs of randomly selected broadcast licensees. Each year, approximately five percent of all radio and television stations are selected for EEO audits.

The FCC issues a list of the stations that are being audited. The audit includes four television stations and seven radio stations that are licensed to communities in New York. To see the FCC’s Public Notice and the list of audited stations click HERE.

The response to the audit must be completed by April 1. If any station in your cluster is on the list of audited stations, all stations in that “station employment unit” (a group of commonly owned stations serving the same area with at least one common employee) must respond. If that cluster has 5 or more full-time employees, it must observe the FCC’s EEO requirements and respond to this audit. If a station that is being audited is involved in an LMA with another broadcaster, the audit may require that the broker provide employment information as well as the licensee. There are some exceptions where stations can be excused from the audit for stations audited in the recent past.

To see an explanatory memo from noted FCC Attorney David Oxenford click HERE.